We’re in Charleston SC and it is 80 degrees outside. Less than two weeks until Christmas and it’s 80?

I’m dreamin’ of a white Christmas… Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

• Should John McEnroe Be Our Third Co-Author? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog
  Johnny Mac on how irrational it would be for a top player to throw a match for gamblers. He says it makes much more sense for lower ranked players. In Davydenko’s case it would make more sense that he was being threatened by the Russian mob, and thus ma
  (tags: sports)
• ABC News: Christ Spectacle: $1.3M Christmas Show
  Church puts on $1 million Christmas pageant. Sheesh.
  (tags: religion)
• mental_floss Blog » 14 Offbeat Clauses in Baseball Contracts
  Strange contract clauses for Major League Baseball players.
  (tags: sports)
• Cruxlux
  Why football teams should punt less.
  (tags: sports)
• Make Fireplace Logs Out of Old Newspaper – Boing Boing Gadgets
  Gadget to make fireplace logs out of damp newspaper.
  (tags: coolstuff)
• Wireless Energy – New York Times
  Transmitting energy without wires. Cool.
  (tags: science)
• Interface: Neal Stephenson’s underappreciated masterpiece – Boing Boing
  Positive review of one of Neal Stephenson’s early books. I really enjoyed his Cryptonomicon but couldn’t get into his Quicksilver-ish work. Those books have me begging someone to get him an editor or at least someone that can talk him into reducing the
  (tags: books)
• bookofjoe: TigerTaco — ‘Just bend down a box flap and slide on a taco’
  From the “why the hell didn’t I think of this” files, comes this handy gadget that gets box flaps out of your way.
  (tags: coolstuff)
• Cool Tool: Scotch Restickable Adhesive Glue Stick
  Glue stick that let’s you creat DIY post-its.
  (tags: coolstuff)

• Mss Sampler Main Page
  Page with links to images from William & Mary’s rare books and manuscripts collections.
  (tags: books history)

• The Art Department: Little Brother
  Blog about cover art, publishing, sci-fi, etc. Fascinating look at the art process in a publishing house.
  (tags: publishing)
• RemoteByMail – LUX.ET.UMBRA
  Need access to some files on your home computer? Maybe you forgot to launch something and you really need a program to be started? Not a sweat.

  RemoteByMail allows you to send an email to the host computer that you have this little program installed o

  (tags: technology howto)

• ALA | AASL announces Passport to Prizes lineup for Reno, Nev.
  Passport to prizes announcement. ALA.
  “Completed passports will enter in a drawing for prizes, which include a portable DVD player, iPod, digital camera, American Express gift card and more.”
  (tags: scip08)

• Bed Bath & Beyond Product
  ManGroomer: Stocking stuffer from Celeste to me? Found via Life in Forsyth.
  (tags: funny)
• UNA Amero Pattern Coins
  Fantasy coins. Cool.
  (tags: coolstuff)
• US says it has right to kidnap British citizens – Times Online
  According to British Court the US has said that the US Supreme Court has approved kidnapping of wanted individuals from other countries.
  (tags: government governmentwatchdog)
• vrmag – issue 28 in FullScreen QuickTime VR Virtual Tours
  Virtual Reality Magazine.
  (tags: magazine)

• Home Power Magazine: Solar | Wind | Hydro | Design | Build
  Website for magazine that’s all about self-power, whether it’s solar, wind or hydro.
  (tags: diy environment howto magazine)
• hField Technologies, Inc.
  Wi-fi directional range extender.
  (tags: technology wireless)
• Adopt and Prosper? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog
  Person-to-person lending set to explode.
  (tags: finance)

• Business Financial Publishing
  Financial newsletter publisher.
  (tags: publishing)
• The Confidential Resource › Paper Versus Binding & Ink Versus Paper
  Fine notebooks.
  (tags: coolstuff)
• ProcessLibrary.com – The online resource for process information!!
  Great web based service to tell you what all those .dll and .exe files on your computer are for.
  (tags: computer software web)
• Newser – Faster, Smarter News
  News aggregator fed by human editors. Very slick.
  (tags: media information)

• Water Demand Reduction in NC Since August – Swivel
  Data on water demand reduction in NC from August to October, 2007.
  (tags: environment northcarolina)
• The Best New Gadget You’ll Never Hear Of – Silicon Alley Insider
  Media player that’s supposed to synch wirelessly with Rhapsody.
  (tags: music media)
• True Film: Helvetica
  Documentary about the invention of Helvetica and how it became ubiquitous. Might be a cool gift for mom, except she doesn’t want gifts this year. Sure to bore the kids.
  (tags: film)
• Georgia boom county offers cautionary tale – Nashville, Tennessee – Monday, 11/26/07 – Tennessean.com
  Growth problems at the other Forsyth County…Georgia.
  (tags: government)
• Center for Citizen Media: Blog » Blog Archive » Shameful ‘Journalism’ by Time Magazine’s Joe Klein
  More about Time Mag columnist Joe Kleins column on privacy and FISA. He’s still wrong and now it appears he didn’t even read the legislation that he was commenting on.
  (tags: media government)
• Sovereign Wealth World: Financial Page: The New Yorker
  Jim Surowiecki explains how state-owned funds from the Middle East and Asia are buying into western companies.
  (tags: economics government)
• EdCone.com: Local impact of mortgage bubble
  Ed covers the US Conference of Mayors report on the impact of the mortgage bubble pop on local economies. Decline for Winston-Salem (.3%) is less sever than Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh (about 1% each).
  (tags: economics government)
• RGE Monitor
  Bearish bear. If this guy is right all I can say is “Oh crap”.
  (tags: economics)

• Digital Platforms Add Revenue to Newspaper Coffers – Advertising Age – MediaWorks
  Ad revenues for papers
  (tags: newspaperevolution)
• Hawala – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Informal financial network that might be linked to Silk Road.
  (tags: economics finance)
• Time’s Columnist Joe Klein Butchers Wiretapping Debate | Threat Level from Wired.com
  According to Wired Joe Klein, Time mag columnist and “anonymous” author of Primary Colors, totally botches analysis of wiretapping bills proposed by Congress.
  (tags: government journalism)
• Nonprofit Communications » Blog Archive » Forget MySpace and Facebook and Try Sites for Boomers?
  Social networks for non-teenagers twenty somethings.
  (tags: web2.0)
• Nightmare in Boomtown – Frontier Capitalism – Global Business
  Deals that go wrong in Russia offer pretty significant downside.
  (tags: business)
• “The mighty muscadine” : News-Record.com : Greensboro, North Carolina
  He had noticed that his wild muscadines were more resistant to Japanese beetles than his cultivated varieties, such as merlot. A doctor friend suggested he analyze the various types of grapes to see what might be making the muscadines more resistant. Dalt
  (tags: lewisville)

• Duluth Pack Tea Thermos
  For Celeste.
  (tags: coolstuff)